PURPOSE: To determine if there is a more sensitive method to identify inpatient rehabilitation patients at high risk for falls rather than the Morse fall scale. METHOD: Retrospective analysis of falls occurring during 6-month period in 2009. Age and diagnosis were used to create comparison groups between patients who fell and those who did not. T-tests were used to determine differences between the two groups in FIM scores and Morse fall scores. RESULTS: Patients who had stroke as a primary diagnosis were more likely to fall than other patients. Length of stay was greater for patients who fell (p = .008). The positive predictive value of the Morse fall scale for patients who fell was 57%, suggesting that it is not a sensitive predictor of falls in rehabilitation patients. Patients who fell had significantly lower FIM expression scores (p = .02).
PURPOSE: To determine if there is a more sensitive method to identify inpatient rehabilitation patients at high risk for falls rather than the Morse fall scale. METHOD: Retrospective analysis of falls occurring during 6-month period in 2009. Age and diagnosis were used to create comparison groups between patients who fell and those who did not. T-tests were used to determine differences between the two groups in FIM scores and Morse fall scores. RESULTS:Patients who had stroke as a primary diagnosis were more likely to fall than other patients. Length of stay was greater for patients who fell (p = .008). The positive predictive value of the Morse fall scale for patients who fell was 57%, suggesting that it is not a sensitive predictor of falls in rehabilitation patients. Patients who fell had significantly lower FIM expression scores (p = .02).
Authors: Carla Morer; Alfredo Michan-Doña; Antonio Alvarez-Badillo; Pilar Zuluaga; Francisco Maraver Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-11-05 Impact factor: 3.390